


Together

by Ultimately_Vibing



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Cole just wants to relax forever, Domestic Bliss, M/M, Talking About The Future, he is tired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultimately_Vibing/pseuds/Ultimately_Vibing
Summary: Cole’s realises he wants nothing more than to settle down with Jay.
Relationships: Cole/Jay Walker
Comments: 16
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

No more fighting.  
No more saving the world.  
Sure it’s selfish, but Cole doesn’t want to do this anymore. It’s not as fulfilling as it used to be.  
When he was younger, he’d spent hours imagining different fantastical lands where he’d be the hero, serving justice to the worst of criminals.  
And sure, once he became a ninja and actually got to do that it was great! It’s a pretty good feeling knowing you’re impacting so many people positively. And that good feeling’s lasted around three years.  
Because he’s realised that this job, this whole kicking bad guy ass thing? There’s no way he’d ever be able to settle down. No way he could ever raise a couple kids, get a dog, live in a small cottage spending most of his time watering flowers or something.  
He’s never pegged himself as a family man. Sure, children are cool and all, but they’ve never really been a major “woah I totally want one” kind of thing.  
And then a few months ago, a little girl ran up to Jay after they’d defeated some evil fucker, and showed him a picture she’d drawn of the ninja.  
It was nothing short of adorable; the crude colouring, Jay squatting down to see better through his mask, the little high five they’d exchanged.  
Fuck, that had totally thrown Cole through a loop.  
He’d known for a while that something was missing in his life. Once he and Jay started dating, the feeling went away for little bit, but it quickly came back.  
It makes sense now. He wants a family. Cole wants a mundane domestic bliss, and that’s it.  
And it’s selfish, so selfish, because he’s needed to save people, needed to help with crises, but it’s simply not good enough anymore.  
Cole used to spend his nights laying awake brainstorming new ways to use his elementals powers, new tactics to use during battle. Now? He shuts his eyes, spooning Jay, and pretends that they’re living his dream life. Adopting some kids (maybe some older ones, they get completely fucked over by the system), moving into the countryside, the most dramatic events that happen usually concerning their children’s school drama.  
It was unrealistic, completely, and he knew that, but it provided that touch of escapism Cole needed sometimes.  
It’s not enough.

“I’m tired.”  
“Aren’t we all? That all-nighter was shit! Do criminals not sleep? Like ever? How do they survive?” Jay’s babbling isn’t as spritely as it usually is, a given due to their exhaustion. “Let’s just go to bed, have some nice sleepy sex, and then wake up tomorrow at noon, preferably later.”  
Cole follows Jay into their room, closing the door gently behind them. He watches Jay pull off his clothes, before the lightning ninja turns and tilts his head.  
“You are good with sleepy sex, right? It’s chill if not, you just usually get naked before me and-”  
“No. I mean yes. Sorry. I’m just a bit out of it.” Cole tugs his t-shirt off.  
“That’s okay! We don’t have to. It is quite late after all.”  
“No, no,” Cole wraps his arms around Jay, focusing on the warmth the energetic man provides. “Sex is good.”  
“Okay. If you’re sure.” Jay kisses Cole’s cheek, and then moves his lips down Cole’s neck, before freezing. “Is something wrong? You feel off.”  
“I - uh, no. Everything’s fine.”  
Jay shakes his head, threading his fingers through Cole’s hair.  
“Baby. You can talk to me if you need to.”  
Cole swallows, nodding.  
“Tomorrow. I just wanna sleep now.”  
“Okay.” Jay gives him a gentle kiss, squeezing his hand. “I’ll sort out our pyjamas.”  
Cole smiles at his boyfriend, so soft and caring, before leaving to give his teeth a quick brush.  
He ignores the part of him that worries whether or not Jay shares his domestic wish.

“Morning sleepyhead. Or rather, good afternoon.”  
Cole’s eyes squint open as Jay opens the curtains. He looks dressed and raring, as if he woke up a while ago. The cold side of the bed certainly confirms that.  
“You got up without me?” Cole blinks a couple times, before sitting up to stretch. Jay places a mug on the bedside table, before crawling into his lap.  
“Yeah. You said you were tired and you looked kinda down last night, so I let you sleep in. Only waking you up now because Lloyd wants us to train in an hour or something.”  
Cole groans.  
“I know! It’s like we don’t get even a single day off.” Jay tilts his head, before rubbing their noses together. “It’s okay. We can be sleepy and perform terribly together.”  
“Together...”  
Oh god, that’s really all Cole wants, isn’t it? Just him and Jay, together. Together on holidays. Together in bed. Together at the altar. Together, maybe not all the time, because that’s a tad clingy, but they always come back together in the end.  
“Yup! I made you coffee. Was gonna make you something to eat too, but Zane kicked me out the kitchen because I was ‘using too many ingredients’, like that’s even possible. So we’ll grab you a meal later. And then maybe we’ll kick everyone’s ass during training, but that’s a little unlikely.”  
“And then we do the same thing all over again tomorrow.” Cole doesn’t mean it to come out so aggressively, but it does, based on Jay’s face.  
“Well, some things will change. And there are always surprises. And, uh, yknow, maybe a mission or something. Our lives are pretty far from boring Cole, what with oh, yknow, elemental powers and beating bad guys up and doing all sorts of cool shit.”  
Oh. Right. Of course Jay wouldn’t want to trade this for days of chores and childcare.  
Jay’s too much fun for that kind of thing.  
“Babe? You look grumpy.”  
“I’m not grumpy.” Cole says, grumpily.  
Jay cups his cheek. “Of course not. You’re my big, warm and strong teddy bear who never gets grumpy. Ever.”  
That cheeky grin on Jay’s face is more than enough to lighten Cole’s mood.  
“And you’re my sweet little demon in angel’s clothing.”  
“The disrespect!” Jay mocks outrage, and it makes Cole feel even better.  
He kisses Jay’s forehead. “Sorry honey. I of course meant my cute, tough and cheerful, um... butterfly?”  
“I love it when you try and be romantic.” Jay beams at him, and Cole returns it.  
He’ll just think about how much he wants a different life later, Jay’s too much of a fun person to be around.

Another few months. More late nights stopping crime. More training. More fighting. More world saving.  
Enough is enough.  
“I’m tired.”  
Jay yawns as he wriggles a bit, nuzzling into Cole’s side. “Then go to sleep. Otherwise you will keep both of us up and then there will be twice the tired.”  
“I meant of being a ninja.”  
Jay doesn’t reply for a few seconds.  
“What?”  
“I don’t wanna do this anymore.”  
All traces of sleepiness are gone from Jay as he sits up. “I don’t understand.”  
“I dunno. I just don’t want to be a ninja anymore. I’m tired of saving the world. Tired of kicking ass. Just tired.”  
“... What will make it better?”  
“Honestly Jay? Quitting. I’ve been thinking about this for ages. Months and months. It’s the only solution I can come up with.”  
“But you can’t! What about all the people to save? What about the team? This is literally the most fulfilling job I can think of and it isn’t enough for you?”  
“No. It’s not. I want more than this Jay.”  
“What more even is there?”  
Cole sighs. He knew Jay wouldn’t share this opinion with him. And he couldn’t achieve his dream without Jay. It would be incomplete. Jay owns his heart entirely, another relationship just wouldn’t be the same.  
“Don’t worry. It’s fine. I might just be tired.”  
“No, Cole, I’m serious. If you’re not happy, we should talk about this, because that’s really important.”  
The earth ninja bites his lip. “It’s lame though.”  
“If you deem it better than kicking ass on a battlefield, it can’t be that lame.”  
Cole doesn’t reply. How does he even phrase this?  
“Babe. Please. Talk to me.”  
“I just wanna settle down. That’s it. Nothing cool, nothing exciting, nothing high action. Just marriage. Couple kids. House with a big garden.”  
Jay is quiet.  
“I told you. It’s lame.”  
“...With me?”  
“Huh?”  
“You want that with me?”  
“Yeah. Only with you. And if you don’t want, uh, that, it’s okay. I’ll just forget about it.”  
Jay runs a hand over Cole’s chest.  
“You’ve thought about this a lot?”  
“Mhm.”  
Silence.  
“Could you tell me about it? Please? Like... what’s our house like?”  
“It would be in the countryside. And I’d grow my own vegetables and fruit and stuff, and you’d tell me that I’d make a great farmer, and we take turns cooking dinner every night, and our house is like... messy, but in a nice way? Few of our kids’ drawings on the fridge. Pictures on the walls. Stuff like that.”  
“How many kids?”  
“Uh, three maybe? Or four. Something like that. Older adoptees. Maybe we’ll adopt one baby, just because babies are cute, but yknow, it would nice for the older children to get chosen.”  
Jay hums. “Do we have a dog?”  
“Sure! If you want.”  
“What would we be doing? Like... jobs.”  
“You’d do whatever you want. And I would, um... work for a bakery or something.”  
“What if I like being a ninja?”  
“Then you keep being one.”  
Jay nods slowly. “Are we gonna get married?”  
“I’d like to.”  
Jay’s lying back down again.  
“Can you keep describing it to me?”  
So Cole does, way into the night, Jay hanging on to every word.

Jay doesn’t mention it in the morning, so neither does Cole.  
They go weeks without talking about it, like it never happened, so Cole assumes that Jay isn’t into his dream world. So he tries to stop thinking about it.  
There are more important things to focus on anyway, like crime rates, and fighting stances and... blah blah blah.  
This is the life Jay wants. So it’s the life Cole will live too.

“Well, I mean, Cole and I might be moving out or something soonish, so yknow, that’s not really an us problem.”  
The discussion about the dojo renovation grinds to an immediate halt.  
“You what?” Kai is looking between them rapidly.  
“Uh, yeah, we what?”  
Jay raises a brow at Cole. “It was your idea silly. We talked about it!”  
“Wait - you actually - I thought you didn’t like it?”  
“Oh my god, I literally told you I was gonna start looking at houses.”  
“You were serious about that?”  
“Yes?? Were you not?”  
“No, no, I was. We - we’re gonna get a house together?”  
“Yeah! I literally made you talk about it for hours.”  
“Hold on. You’re gonna move out?” Nya asked.  
“Yeah. And we’re gonna get married and have kids and-”  
“That’s a little unrealistic. You’re ninja. It’s not like any of us can just settle down. We have a pretty dangerous job.” Lloyd folds his arms.  
Cole shifts. “I, um, wanna quit.”  
Kai drops his mug. “Huh?”  
“I don’t wanna do this anymore. I’m tired of it. And-”  
“Both of you? That’s quite detrimental to the team and-”  
“No. Just me. Jay’s still gonna be a ninja.”  
“Do you even have enough money to-”  
“Yeah. I added things up, and there’s enough for a deposit and some extra.” Jay doesn’t let Nya finish.  
Lloyd shakes his head slowly. “This is insane.” He looks at Cole. “You’re really quitting?”  
“If it’s alright.”  
“Of course.” He stands, embracing him. “This is pretty cool. I’m happy for you guys.”

They move out four months later, a small cottage that’s a 20 minute drive from the dojo. It’s cosy, and homey, and better than anything Cole could’ve imagined.  
It’s a step towards the domestic lifestyle he’s craved for so long.  
He’s happy, Jay’s happy, and that’s so much more than he could ever ask for.


	2. Chapter 2

“Wow.”  
“Yeah... I - Wow...”  
Cole didn’t even want to blink, terrified that the moment his eyes shut, even for a minute, that this moment was going to be ripped away from him.  
But he can only strain for so long, and when he sees his little girl still swaddled in Jay’s arms after he caves in and flickers his eyes closed, his entire body relaxes. It’s real. All real.  
A six month old baby, sleeping as Jay cradles her, looking gorgeous, perfect, incredible.  
Already he feels so protective of this human being, the baby he’s only just met. Cold would do anything for her, without hesitation, no matter how extreme. And based on how tightly Jay’s holding her, his husband feels the same.  
“I - I just... can’t believe no one wanted her.” Jay mumbles, fingers very gently caressing the large scar tissue covering almost half of her face. “I can’t believe we nearly skipped over her.”  
The original plan had been to look for an older kid. And that’s definitely still on the books, later on, in a year or two. But when the adoption agent was showing off different children’s profiles, they’d flicked over Vera’s page very briefly, but long enough for Cole to look at her little face.  
None of the other children’s faces resonated with Cole as much as hers did, whether that be because of the scar or her big brown eyes.  
The night after that meeting, Cole brought her up. Jay had smiled instantly.  
“I want her Cole. I know we said -”  
“No, no, I know! She’s... she’s ours.”  
And even before the agent had filled them in on her backstory, the decision had been made.

Little Vera Descargen had been branded with an iron just a few days after she’d been born; her mother had passed during child birth and her biological father was suffering from both grief and a crippling addiction to heroin. After a night of constant crying, as babies are wont to do, the man had snapped, attempting to shut her up. A neighbour had heard the commotion, and called for help. Vera was moved to child protection custody pretty much immediately, her father incarcerated, and then sent to rehab. He signed away his parental rights. Medical examination showed Vera had gone blind in one eye, and her skin would never heal. And because of this, lots of potential adoptive parents chose other kids; she’d been in the system for five months now, always overlooked.  
If Cole hadn’t completely loved her before hearing the story, he definitely did afterwards. Jay had asked for the adoption papers without hesitating for a second.

So here they are now. Jay cradling their new daughter, while Cole rests his chin on his husband’s shoulder.  
“When’s it my turn again?”  
Jay snorts. “Isn’t it potentially distressing for a baby to be switching arms every five minutes? We’re practically strangers to her.”  
“I know, I know.” Cole settles for brushing his fingers over one of her chubby little fists instead. “I just - She’s real!”  
“Pfft, obviously. We didn’t go through all those meetings and paperwork and signing shit for a pretend baby.”  
“Mind your language. There’s a child present.”  
“Right. Sorry Vera. I’m gonna work on it. Don’t worry though, your dad’s gonna keep me in check. Right?”  
That’s him! Cole is dad! That’s his new name, he’s dad now, dad to the cutest little girl in the whole universe.  
“Right.” Cole beams, and Jay smiles at him.  
Vera babbles something, and Cole leans in close to her, hanging on to every garbled syllable.  
“Hey Cole?”  
“Mhm?”  
“How’s bein’ a househusband sound?”  
Cole’s heart skips several beats. “Huh?”  
“Been negotiating some stuff with the ninja. Mentioned I have a kid to provide for now and things... I’m gonna be getting more pay. I know you said a couple weeks ago that in an ideal world, your job would just be staying here and looking after our kids. So, uh, that could be an option, if you were serious about it.”  
“For real?” Cole beams. “I’d - I’d love that.”  
“I know.” Jay tilts his head, an invitation for Cole to kiss his cheek, which he does.  
Vera starts whimpering a little, and both men immediately snap attention to her.  
“Do you think maybe she’s hungry? Are you hungry? Do you want milk?”  
There was a hesitation, where both didn’t know entirely what to do. Until Jay raised her a little, checking her diaper, and Cole rushes off to fill a baby bottle.  
“She doesn’t need changing!” Jay calls out.  
Cole’s main response is a grunt while he mixes the formula.  
By the time he’s back in the room, Vera’s whimpers have escalated to full on cries, Jay looking absolutely shit scared while he bounces her up and down.  
“Am I doing this right?? Cole? What am- What are we supposed to do? God, what have we done, this is...”  
Cole gently takes her, and puts the bottle to her mouth. Instantly, she quietens, drinking.  
“It’s alright Jay. We’ll get the hang of it. Don’t worry. See? She’s fine. Aren’t you sweetie? Just a little bit hungry.”  
Jay rubs his temple. “Have we made a mistake? What if someone else could’ve looked after her better? Sorted her out quicker? What if-”  
“Jay. Honey.” Cole kisses his forehead, careful not to jostle Vera. “It’s alright. We’re new at this. It’ll get easier.”  
Jay nods slowly. “Right. Right. Of course. Yeah.”  
But based on Jay’s lip wobble, Cole knows his confidence has plummeted.  
And he doesn’t quite know what to do about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Only two months afterwards, the world started ending.  
Cole felt his heart plummet as he watched the sky crack open, a dark portal splitting through the clouds, energy swirling, getting closer every second.  
Jay, of course, is with the ninja fighting whoever or whatever has caused it.  
And Cole, on the other hand, is hiding amongst their cottage’s debris, clutching Vera as she screams, trying desperately not to join her in crying.  
He’s never felt so scared in his life.  
“W-we’re okay. We’re gonna be okay. Your - Your papa’s saving the day. And all your uncles and your aunt. They’re gonna save the day. They always do. They always- The ninja never lose. They won’t lose.” Cole’s mainly trying to reassure himself, and he rubs Vera’s back gently, kissing her forehead. “Whatever happens... your papa’s gonna come back. And we’ll keep you safe.”

It was supposed to be a normal, regular day.  
Cole woke up at six, in time with Vera’s wailing, scooping her up and shushing her. He mixed her some formula, and made himself some tea, while Jay snuck up behind him and kissed his cheek, and made some breakfast.  
“You can go back to sleep afterwards.” Jay had pointed his spoon at Cole after a mouthful of cereal. “You look exhausted.”  
Cole had waved him off. “We’ll take a nap after you leave for work. Think I’m gonna let you leave without a hot chocolate for the road?”  
Jay had rolled his eyes, smiled, and then leaned over to caress Vera’s cheek.  
She’d squealed, and reached out to him, earning further affection as Jay had cuddled her close.  
And then his phone had beeped, receiving a distressed call from the ninja, and he’d hastily put Vera back in Cole’s arms, kissed him goodbye and took off.  
It didn’t worry Cole too much. He knew that things were stressful sometimes.  
It was when some kind of energy beam blasted through the walls of all houses in the neighbourhood three hours after Jay left that Cole got scared.

That must’ve been... four hours ago?  
Maybe?  
Cole’s unsure, instead just holding Vera close.  
Another beam hits a house a few blocks over. He’s not the only one cowering in fear, not the only one who flinches at the blast. Mr and Mrs Wallace from next door are hunkered over there, shivering.  
A few years ago, Cole would’ve gone and helped them. That had been his job after all.  
Vera sobs again.  
“Shh. Sh. I know. I know. I’m looking for some right now.”  
She’s hungry. He knows it.  
But the house - his home - is a wreck, and he doesn’t even know what area the kitchen had been. It’s all muddled up.  
Another beam, this time going right over the block, and some stray energy from it flickers, surging dangerously close to him.   
Vera screams louder.  
“It’s okay. It’s okay honey. You’re safe. Daddy will never let anything happen to you. Never ever.”  
He knows she doesn’t understand a thing he’s saying. But hopefully just hearing him mumble is helping, even if just a bit, as he rummages amongst rubble to find even just a hint of baby formula.

It’s another half hour before he finds it. And there’s dust coating the air.  
It’s been a long time since this much damage has happened. He’d never been on the other side before.  
Is this how it feels for normal people? Knowing that the ninja are fighting for them, but they might not win, and it’s so scary, and so fucking devastating.  
Vera’s stopped crying by this point. She’s just nuzzled to his chest, clearly exhausted. Entirely devoid of energy.  
The only thing keeping Cole from having a breakdown is knowing that he has to feed her. He has to.  
He only finds a small packet. Only enough for one bottle. He’ll have to ration it, and even then, he needs to find a container and some water.  
The earth shakes for a moment, and Cole swallows. His mouth is so dry. He hasn’t eaten since this morning.  
Regardless, he needs to keep going.  
He notices the neighbour a few doors down has a canteen, and is taking slow swigs from it. He only recognises her from out and about, and they’ve never interacted before. She’s talking to another girl, and they look young, so young, Cole feels awful about asking her for what a hopefully water.  
Slowly, he makes his way to them, sticking close to shelter, on the offchance another strike happens.  
He inhales a load of dust from the air, and it scratches at his throat. He holds Vera closer, hoping that the same doesn’t happen to her.  
“H-hi.” Cole’s voice is choked when he approaches the lady, and she looks at him.  
“Hello?”  
“I’m- I’m so sorry. I just- I need to feed my daughter, a-and you’ve got a canteen with what I’m hoping is water and I just- Please. Please, my baby hasn’t been fed for ages.” He tries to keep himself calm and monotonous, but he’s cracking, he’s cracking, and for fucks sake, Jay better be fucking safe.  
This is the first time they’ve been apart in a situation like this.  
The girl nods immediately. “Of course. Of course, I’m sorry, uh- yeah this is water. Will it be enough?”  
“Thank you! Thanks - so much.” Cole takes the offered flask. It feels about half full. “I’ll- I can try and save some for you, if you have another container then we can split, so you can have your water and-”  
“No. No. It’s okay. I can handle it. Your baby can’t.”  
“Thank you. Thank you.” Cole sits down, tearing open the packet as Vera leans against him. He pour it slowly into the water, not all of it, and then brings the flask to Vera’s lips.  
“I know this isn’t what you’re used to sweetie, but it’s all we’ve got. Okay?”  
Vera laps it all up like her life depends on it. And it probably does.

A bomb.  
Cole has seconds to react, and he does so, summoning spikes of earth for the first time of years, creating cover for him and his little girl.  
How long now?  
Too long.  
The whole sky is dark. His phone’s dead. He doesn’t know where Jay is, or if he’s okay.  
Vera whimpers.  
“I know baby. I know.”  
His ears are ringing. And hers probably are too.  
Cole places his hands in a way to cover them, just in case that might help.  
Another explosion. Few metres away.  
Cole’s prepped this time, shielding Vera entirely, lengthening his earth shields until it covers them both, like a shitty little stone igloo.  
There’s screaming.  
Cole’s heart pangs at the idea that he could be helping other people right now, if he’d made different choices.  
And Vera sobs again, refocusing him.  
Right. Only one person matters to him right now.  
Well, two.  
But he can only help one of them.  
“Shh. Shh, shush, it’s okay. I’ve got you.  
Another loud bang.  
Cole’s throat is so sore.  
“It’s okay sweetie. Daddy’s here. Daddy’s keeping you safe.”  
Again.  
Cole’s eyes water, and he can’t stop the tears or the wobble of his voice.  
“I’m here. I’m never gonna let anything happen to you. We’ll be okay. It’s okay. We’re okay.”  
Again. Again. Again.  
Cole refortifies his walls over and over, desperately trying to keep them and himself together.  
It’s the end of the world and there’s nothing he can do about it.  
And then the walls blast open.  
Cole’s last conscious thought it of his daughter and his husband. He hopes they’re going to be okay.

He wakes up in a bed.  
An unfamiliar, uncomfortable bed.  
There’s no weight in his arms, so he jolts upwards.  
“Vera! Vera, fuck, where’s my baby? Where is she? Where’s my-”  
A hand clamps to his shoulder, trying to hold him steady. Cole shakes it off, ignoring the fuzzy words being spoken.  
“Where is she? Where’s my baby? Vera! I-”  
He attempts to clamber out of this godforsaken bed, but is pushed back.  
“Babe. I’ve got her. She’s okay.”  
And Cole finally looks at the owner of that hand, and it’s Jay, fuck, it’s Jay, he’s okay, his face is all messed up and he’s bloody and bruised and he’s covered in bandages but he’s okay. And he’s holding their sleeping daughter in his arms.  
Cole starts sobbing.  
Jay joins him.  
And Vera continues to sleep as they wept in each other’s arms.

“Was Vera awake when you found us?”  
After all tears are shed, it’s time to talk. And Cole has a million questions, and he doesn’t even know why that’s his first one, but somehow it just makes sense.  
“No. She was asleep. But not passed out. I, uh, think you might’ve somehow saved her from a concussion.” Jay laces their fingers together, thumb caressing Cole’s skin. “Found you maybe forty minutes after you got knocked out.”  
“And the- the bad guy? They’re-?”  
“Dead. Killed by his own blast.”  
“What was he even trying to do?”  
“I- Something about aliens and science and world domination or whatever. I don’t care why he did it. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re okay, and Vee’s okay, and you’re both safe.”  
“And you.” Cole added, eyes round. “Jay, I - I don’t know what I would’ve done if...”  
“Shh. It’s okay. We’re all safe now. All that’s left is damage control.”  
Cole nods slowly, before looking at Vera again, kissing her scar. “And you promise she’s completely unharmed? You had all the scans run?”  
“Of course I did!” Jay rolls his eyes, and then wraps his arms around Cole tightly. “I love you. So much.”  
“I love you too.”  
Jay’s embrace tightens. “You and Vee- I... I don’t ever want either of you to go through that again. Ever.”  
“I don’t know if that’s something you can prevent.” Cole laughs shakily.   
“But I can prevent you from ever being alone if this kind of situation comes up again.”  
“What? Jay?”  
“I just-” He nuzzles closer. “I love you so much. And the whole time we were fighting the fucker, I felt sick, because you could’ve been dead Cole. Both of you. One of you. I don’t know. I don’t ever wanna be in that position again. So if- if another worldender comes along? I’m not gonna leave your side. The others can handle all the big stuff. I didn’t contribute much, only a few of my classics one liners. They don’t need me. I’ll help with the-the small stuff. Little baddies. But not when you need me. Never when you need me.”  
Cole kisses Jay, because it’s the only thing he can think to do.  
Vera snuffles in her sleep, drawing them away from each other, instead focusing on her.  
Jay places his hand over hers. Cole runs his fingers through her hair.  
They’ll never go through something like that again.


End file.
